Non-market Valuation And Marine Ecosystem Management

The value of marine ecosystem services cannot be expressed by trade in markets. Lackof value has become the reason why marine ecosystem services have always beenignored or underestimated in economic decisions. Through economic methods, non-market valuation quantifies the contribution of marine ecosystem services to human well-being in monetary terms. Based on currency, marine ecosystem services can becompared with other market goods and services, which will inform policy decisionsinvolving marine ecosystem management and help optimize the allocation of marineecosystem services.Based on the utility theory, this study constructs the mechanism of value flowing fromecosystems to socioeconomic systems, through which non-market values of marineecosystem services are identified. It also builds the conceptual framework and process ofnon-market valuation of marine ecosystem services from analyzing the characteristics ofnon-market valuation techniques.On the basis of existing literature, this research analyses the characteristics of non-marketvaluation studies of marine ecosystem services and identifies the factors that affect non-market value estimates from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Therefore thecurrent state of non-market valuation studies of marine ecosystem services is presentedclearly as well as the key factors regarding non-market valuation techniques.There is a knowledge gap in the study of policy use of non-market valuation. To solvethis problem, this research studies the use of non-market valuation in marine ecosystemmanagement systematicly. A survey on the policy use of non-market valuation wasconducted among55estuarine agencies in the U.S. From this survey, the practical use ofnon-market valuation is investigated. Moreover, this research constructs a conceptualframework of the use of non-market valuation in marine ecosystem management andidentifies the enabling factors that promote the use of non-market valuation. Lastly, according to the status and characteristics of marine ecosystem management inChina, this study devises three strategies with respect to marine ecosystem management,based on non-market valuation of ecosystem services. These strategies are intended toapply to different levels of management.This research adds the following points to fill the gap.(1) Constructing a conceptual framework of non-market valuation of marine ecosystemservices. Based on the characteristics of marine ecosystems, this research constructs themechanisim of value flowing from ecosystems to economic systems, which transformsthe abstract value of ecosystem services into monetary value. Furthermore, a matchsystem is built between values of ecosystem services and non-market valuation methodsso that the value can be estimated by the most appropriate methods.(2) Resarching the policy use of non-market valuation in marine ecosystem management.Non-market valuation aims to inform policy decisions, based on which a survey isconducted to investigate decision makers’experience of using non-market valuation inmarine ecosystem management. The results of the survey present how non-marketvaluation works in practice. Also potential uses of non-market valuation are identified aswell as enabling factors of the use of non-market valuation.(3) Devising strategies for marine ecosystem management based on non-market valuation.According to the characteristics of marine ecosystem management in China, this researchdevises three different strategies that are based on non-market valuation of ecosystemservices. These strategies all intend to include non-market values of ecosystem servicesinto decision-making processes. In addition, the strategies vary in objective, techniqueand cost, so that they can meet different demands of varying administrative agencies fromdifferent levels.